Exclusive Cover Debut: Ultimate Onslaught?

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Updated with commentary by writer Robert Kirkman.

By Richard George

With our Ultimate X-Men top story going live today, we thought we'd share a fun cover we've been holding in our reserves for a couple days. Like Ultron, this Salvador Larroca piece caught our eye. Who were these guys? The color scheme of one definitely had us thinking a few options, but we weren't sure. With Apocalypse due to arrive the issue before, it was hard to say just what we were looking at.

Updated: See below our cover reveal for a quick Q&A with writer Robert Kirkman!

For more details, we asked one of the Ultimate line editors, Bill Rosemann, to give us a clue as to what's going on here. Shed some light, Bill!

"Like many fans, I love it when the Ultimate writers and artists give a modern twist to famous Marvel characters. Take this cover, for instance, when Salvador Larroca and colorist Stephane Peru turned in…hey, that guy on the left reminds me of Onslaught…and that guy on the right…his white armor, complete with pointy-blade-helmet-things (yes, that's a real comic phrase, True Believer), reminds me of Stryfe.

"First we get the return of Sinister…then Apocalypse makes his debut…what in the world has writer Robert Kirkman cooked up now?"

What's all this mean? We needed more information, so we turned to writer Robert Kirkman for some comments.

IGN Comics: From looking at the picture one would assume we're seeing Xavier and Cable in their new roles as Onslaught and Stryfe respectively. Is this an accurate reading?

Robert Kirkman: Possibly, but then, hasn't Stryfe already been introduced into the book? And what does all this have to do with Apocalypse? It's certainly a thought provoking cover, that's for sure. I really don't want readers to know too much going in, so all I'm going to say is--it's going to be totally awesome.

IGN Comics: Cable brought Xavier to the future to help prepare him to battle Apocalypse. What do these costumes have to do with the upcoming battle?

Kirkman: They have everything to do with the upcoming battle. Assuming this is even Xavier and Cable we're looking at. By this point Apocalypse is well into the process of taking over the world - so people are coming out of the woodwork to try and stop him. These two could be literally anyone.

IGN Comics: We've seen another man in the present calling himself Stryfe, so how does he relate to Cable, if he does at all?

Kirkman: No relation to Cable at all... but he might be related to Wolverine...

Whatever is coming, it sure doesn't spell good things for the X-Men. Don't forget to check out our full Ultimate X-Men interview with Kirkman and stay tuned to IGN for the latest information about everything in the Ultimate Universe!